Titanic turnip

Published
12:00 am CST, Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Clarence Vogt has been gardening for 56 years, growing turnips bigger than softballs, and one this year, 24 inches around and weighing 7 pounds.

He said he was shocked to see that one. Vogt said he has kept it in his basement, which is cool and helps retain the vegetable's freshness. He plans to cook it, along with other garden produce. He planted six rows of potatoes and zucchini.

He puts in a big garden every year. Vogt said he had 350 tomato plants. He estimates the garden to be 100 by 100 on seven-eighths of an acre. It is on the right side of Route 140.

He also has grown blackberries, cucumbers, peppers and various other types of vegetables and fruit. He uses fertilizer and enjoys working with the soil. His family includes four daughters and two sons, and growing his own food was a way to feed his large family. Now that they are adults, it is a way to pass the time.

"I've got to do something," said Vogt, 86. "I can't sit down. I used to go fishing. I caught a 5-pound catfish."

He was always active, gardening and working. He also served in the Navy. He has visited about 40 states through the years. Vogt and his wife, Lillian, were married in 1949. She died in September 2002.

"She took care of the house," he said. "Gardening helped me feel good."

He has sold his vegetables, and said he enjoys talking to the people. Vogt likes to keep busy, and is also accomplished in woodcarving, making items such as large and small cabinets, shelving, tables, china cabinets, birdhouses, wood lamps and other works of art.

"I made my daughter, Laura Vogt of Alton, a rose arbor," he said.

The talented carver has also made wood replicas of mail trucks, trains, and has made a mailbox with a wooden horse.

Vogt was a machinist for 22 years at Jake Evans Manufacturing. He worked for 20 years at the former Owens-Illinois Glass factory in Alton, where he was a pipefitter. He also spent about five years working for Olin. He is used to hard work.

"I put in about 50 years in factories," he said.

When Vogt visited The Telegraph office, he refused to take a chair, preferring to stand. He was "born and raised" in Portage Des Sioux, Mo., and was the "baby" of his family. He worked with his dad. He recalls milking cows, horse-drawn plows and feeding the horses and chickens. He had three brothers and four sisters.

"People talk about the good old days. I never saw a good old day," he said.